All characters contained within are entirely fictional; any similarity to any real or fictional person living or deceased is totally unintentional. Do not read this story if you do not enjoy reading about consensual sexual activities of an exhibitionist nature. Otherwise read on......

 

 

Chapter 1 - Prologue

 

It arrived by stealth. Sand cascaded off its head and body as it climbed effortlessly out of the ground and gazed around the camp with obsidian eyes. Seemingly made of the sand itself, the same pale gold glistening in the moonlight. Pausing for a moment it sniffed the air before striding silently over to the nearest tent and entered.

 

A scream pierced the silence waking the camp. In an instant cries of alarm rang in all directions as soldiers hurriedly dressed searching for the source of the scream. The intruder ignored the cacophony as it dragged the struggling victim into the ground beneath the tent.

 

The following morning, as the sun rose above the horizon and the tents were dismantled, the soldiers discovered the body of their missing comrade. Stunned they stood mute in a circle staring at the half-buried hand with its fingers curled like talons. Frantically they scooped the sand away from the hand revealing more of the contorted body as they did so. Once it had been unearthed they realised the true horror of their comrade's death. Less than twenty four hours ago the young man had been as fit and strong as the rest of them, now he was nothing more than a skeleton with desiccated flesh hanging from the bones in shreds.

 

Several sank to their knees praying to God for his soul while others quickly buried the body again desperate to flee before whatever had done this returned to claim another victim. Little did they know that less than a metre below their feet it lay for the moment satiated sensing their every move. It listened to their alien language neither understanding nor caring about their frightened conversations going on above. As the soldiers decamped and set off for Murzuq it swam through the sand following at a discrete distance waiting for night to fall again.

 

Twenty miles from Murzuq the sand gave way to barren rock boosting the soldiers' confidence knowing they were nearly home and away from the cursed dunes. With increased optimism they marched along well-worn paths paying little attention to the time of day and joked about their plans for when they got home to their families.

 

At the edge of the sand dunes, just below the surface, it waited for the sun to set. Finally sensing the temperature drop it erupted from the ground sending up clouds of dust into the air as it sprinted after its quarry following their tracks with ease. Spooked by the malevolently red moon hanging low in the sky and increasing darkness, the soldiers upped their pace to a fast jog, for home was now less than a mile away.

 

They never made it.

 

Their bodies were found the following morning. Each one ripped apart, broken and as dry as the desert itself. Word spread like wildfire through the town of Murzuq and surrounding villages, the Hajar Shaytaan had returned.

 

Chapter 2 - Cairo, March 1892

 

I awoke to the sounds of the muezzin calling the faithful to prayers. Sighing I buried my head under my pillow to block out the sound of his wailing cries. It was early, too early for my liking and already noisy. Why had my parents dragged me to this hot and alien city? I had loved Cambridge and its university where I had been studying politics and history. But father had been promoted and then posted to the Cairo Embassy, naturally mother had to follow and so did I apparently. I argued my case to stay behind but they were resolute, I had become too Bohemian in their opinion and felt that coming with them I would leave that lifestyle behind.

 

Hah! Little do they suspect that my inclinations have only grown stronger since arriving in Egypt, money talks here, even more so than at home. It's surprising what I can get for just a few pence or the promise of patronage by a member of Her Majesty's Government.

 

It's been ten years since we (Great Britain, not my family that is) bailed out the Egyptian Government and effectively took control of the country in the process. My father says it's another jewel in our empire's crown. If you ask me it's yet another shameful example of our nation's greed for power and wealth. Not that anyone does of course. I'm just the spoilt child of the ambassador, that's what the embassy staff say behind my back. Do I care? Well yes I do actually but coming here wasn't my choice so I'm going to enjoy myself as much as I can.

 

Anyway I'm digressing, it was the beginning of yet another sweltering day and I still hadn't got used to the temperature. The locals said it was cool and that I should wait until summer, it really gets hot then. I'm going to melt I just know it!

 

Uncovering my head I rolled onto my back and watched the dust motes dancing in the sunlight filtering through the sunscreen in the window. I felt a connection to those miniscule particles, like me they moved because of invisible forces applied to them with no option to resist. Well not yet at least, but soon I promised myself soon I will be the master of my own destiny.

 

My train of thought was disturbed by the gentle snoring of the young man sleeping soundly next to me. I looked over with affection at Ahmed, 23 and the son of our chauffeur. He looked so angelic with his long lashes and kissable lips but that was just a disguise. Last night he had been insatiable, not letting me rest until he had sown his seed deep into my backside several times.

 

I clenched at the memory of our union, my arse ached from all the attention it had received. But it was worth it, one in the eye for mother's prudery and another for father's snobbery. I can imagine their horror if they ever found out their son had not only slept with another man but that other man was what they termed a 'colonial servant'. Now lying on my side with my head supported by one hand I caressed his smooth naked chest with the other. Stirring he pulled the sheet that has been partially covering us further up and snuggled deeper into his pillow. My hand slid lower tracing the fine line of black hairs down his stomach to his crotch and his cock I knew so intimately. It grew rapidly under my gentle massaging until once more it was hard and pulsing.

 

"Morning" he sighed sleepily.

 

I loved his rich and heavily accented voice, it added to his exoticness, and then he looked at me revealing what had seduced me in the first place. Large brown eyes, so warm and trusting despite the hardship and poverty they had known in their short life. He pulled me towards him and kissed me tenderly on the lips. I could still faintly taste my essence on his lips from when he had sucked me off in the early hours but it didn't put me off from returning his kiss.

 

Desire flared again, this time however it remained unsated because I could hear the distinctive clacking of shoes on the stone staircase made by our elderly housekeeper. Ahmed and I froze for a moment then with a grin he leapt out of bed exposing his slender naked brown body to my gaze. In one smooth move he grabbed his gallebaya and slipped it over his head before disappearing into the adjoining servant's quarter. He dashed back grabbing his pillow and blew a kiss towards me before closing the door behind him. Quickly I dragged my pillow into the middle of the bed and assumed a slumbering position with my eyes firmly closed.

 

Seconds later there was a loud knock on the door and without waiting for a response Hilda, the housekeeper strode in announcing that breakfast would be served in fifteen minutes. I pretended that I'd just woken up acting sleepy but she was too busy looking around the room to notice. She scowled when she found nothing out of place in my room. I knew she suspected that I was up to something because she was always trying to catch me out. I had to be on my guard but it'd become a game for me. It relieved the boredom especially as I knew she disapproved of the company I kept and if the truth was told, me too.

 

As I ate my breakfast mother and father took it in turns to question me about my plans for the coming week while they were away. I shrugged my shoulders and said nothing much before asking where they're going. Big mistake! Father glared at me while mother just shook her head in disappointment. She explained in a slightly patronising voice that they would travelling to Tripoli for a governmental meeting along with the French and American ambassadors. I vaguely remembered her mentioning this to me the other day and felt embarrassed by my lack of attention. My only excuse was that I have been distracted by Ahmed of late.

 

I did the decent thing and apologised to both of them promising that I would give serious thought to what I would do with my time while they are gone. This appeared to hit the right note because mother smiled encouragingly at me and even father seemed mollified by my apology. I spent the rest of the morning formulating a plan that would both satisfy my parents' expectations and allow my fun to continue uninterrupted.

 

During afternoon tea I put forward my proposal to them. I told them that I would like to join them on their visit to Tripoli and spend a day or two of quality time with them. Then I planned to go on a tour of the country's historical sites to further my knowledge of antiquities. I had their undivided attention for this was the first time I had been proactive and thinking about my future since arriving in Egypt. They reacted positively until I mentioned the fact that I would be taking Ahmed with me to act as interpreter. They point blank refused and told me that there were more qualified and experienced translators available. I was ready for them as I had been expecting this reaction so digging my heels in I emphasized how embarrassing and bad form it would be to leave him behind. He was after all the son of our chauffer who would be coming with us and besides he was good company for me.

 

Mother relented admitting that that I had a point, father said nothing and just sat there scowling at me. We both knew that with her on my side the game was over, I had won the argument. I allowed myself just the smallest of smiles and thanked them for agreeing to my request.

 

It wasn't until much later that I had the opportunity to tell Ahmed about my plans. Sitting in the garden, under the starry sky, close enough for our shoulders to touch we shared a cigarette passing it back and forth between puffs. I hesitated for a moment before in almost a whisper I asked him to join him on my adventure. He looked sideways at me with an inscrutable expression then looked away and blew a plume of smoke into the night air. I was about to ask him what he was thinking when he turned towards me and grinned. With a chuckle he admitted that he was grateful for the invitation and looked forward to travelling first class with me. But then he went all serious on me and said that we would have to be careful when travelling around Tripolitania's interior. It's a dangerous place with lawless areas ruled by robbers and local militia.

 

In my naivety I assured him that everything would be fine as we'd be hiring armed escorts and besides we'd have the finest camels to outrun any bad guys. This at least returned the smile to his face. He glanced down at my crutch and then up at my open bedroom window. His meaning was clear.